Cision, one of the world’s most prominent global media intelligence companies, recently reached out to the newest addition to the Kimball Communications team, Eileen Coyne, to talk about public relations.
In her interview, Eileen discusses the importance of creating meaningful content, insights for relationship building and the all-important need for strong writing skills in the world of PR.
Click here for the complete interview between Cision and our own Eileen Coyne.
Kimball Communications is proud to announce Eileen Coyne has joined the Philadelphia agency as its newest public relations manager, as noted in O’Dwyers and the Philadelphia Business Journal today.
Coyne will be tasked with developing and executing client strategies and tactics, and leading certain PR accounts for the agency.
She joins Kimball Communications after having served most recently as an account manager with marketing and PR firm IMRE, which is headquartered in Baltimore. Before that she was a senior communications coordinator for Nationwide Insurance.
After graduating from Loyola University Maryland with a degree in Communications, Coyne began her career as a journalist working with several prestigious business trade publications in Washington, D.C. and Ohio before making the transition to a career in public relations.
She can be reached by email at ecoyne@kimballpr.com or at the office at (610) 559-7585
Today’s edition of BullDog Reporter features news regarding two new Kimball Communications clients: Alain Pinel Realtors and Landmark Hospitality. Read more about the work we’ll be doing for clients from coast to coast from Bulldog Reporter.
This week alone, I have received two press releases from two different organizations that make clear businesses don’t understand press releases.
Both came in the form of emails, the most recent one this morning.
The six-line headline of today’s release proudly announced the organization had earned a certain re-certification that had nothing to do with its products, services or customers. Put simply, it wasn’t newsworthy by any measure and, as such, had the unintended effect of reminding people like me to unsubscribe. I, the intended audience, could find no value or call to action in the message.
Sadly, this is a trend I am seeing more often. Companies large and small are firing off emails labeled as press releases to convey marketing messages that have little or no news value. As media outlets become more stratified, organizations are struggling to keep pace and employing a range of tactics to get their messages out. These ill-conceived press release emails run the risk of alienating all intended audiences: consumers, journalists and even stray PR professionals clearly added in error to email databases.
Anyone can write something and call it a press release. Anyone can send an email and call it news. Seriously… anyone.
Why ‘Anyone’ Handling PR Won’t Do
Businesses employ trained PR professionals for good reason. Most often and importantly these business communications professionals are there to ensure messaging is appropriate and generates value for an organization.
A skilled and experienced PR professional will ensure press releases have genuine news value to the recipient and the intended audience. Knowledgeable PR professionals work diligently to ensure press releases are precise, focused and targeted. Really good PR professionals will have the tact and professionalism to note when news value in a company’s messaging is lacking and must be addressed. In doing so, the experience, skill and thoughtful tactics employed via public relations professionals ensures the reputation of the businesses or brands in question are protected.
By winging it, as the organizations I’m now familiar with have done, they have demonstrated they don’t understand their audience, their messaging isn’t focused and they are employing a “spray-and-pray” tactic that has rarely worked in the past.
They’ve also managed to turn me, and those like me, away from their brands. All it took to do so was one so-called press release.
Millennials, long believed to dwell only in the land of eternal youth and parental basements, are beginning to emerge, as predicted in 2014, as a major force in the real estate market … at least in Des Moines.
Recently portrayed on Saturday Night Live as text-obsessed navel gazers, millennials are beginning to emerge as drivers of the real estate market in several urban markets. – Photo courtesy of SNL
According to today’s report on NPR, Des Moines’ strong insurance and financial sectors, coupled with affordable housing and an educated workforce are leading these young, first-time homebuyers to the oft-promised American Dream: homeownership.
While this trend conflicts with the nomadic stereotypes foisted on an entire generation, other assumptions remain consistent. These new homebuyers are selecting homes closer to urban hubs than their parents, primarily to avoid that other American Dream: driving.
If this trend continues, millennials might not only be poised to breathe new life into several U.S. industries, including the housing market, insurance and possibly aiding the revival of America’s great cities.
So what’s the secret recipe for industry leaders, and especially real estate pros, looking for a way to capitalize on the millennials as industry saviors? A strong education base, plenty of affordable urban housing and a growing employment sector seem to be critical to this trend.
Looking out my own window into the world, I’ve got to wonder if Philadelphia‘s time to shine has finally arrived. With its solid university options, ample affordable housing and robust insurance industry poised for dramatic expansion in the next five years, the City of Brotherly Love and papal visits might well be poised for a renaissance of its own thanks to this emerging trend.
Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF), a nonprofit non-governmental organization dedicated to educating, supporting and financing energy users seeking sustainable energy options, today announces it has awarded a contract to Re:Vision Architecture of Philadelphia to create a conceptual design for a commercially viable net zero commercial building.
As a net-zero project, the building will be extremely energy efficiency and create at least as much energy as it uses over a year from renewable energy. It will effectively minimize utility bills to a minimum monthly fee.
“SEF intends to show how a net-zero commercial office space can be commercially viable in the small office environment,” says John Costlow, president of SEF. “Net zero technology has been viable for some time but the challenge is to accomplish it at or near market rates while also significantly lowering traditional operating costs.”
Re:Vision Co-Founder and Principal Scott Kelly applauded SEF for inviting the architecture firm in early during the project’s concept stage.
“We’re thrilled to have found in SEF a partner focused on the end-goal of a net-zero building that is willing to bring in an architectural design partner so early in the development stages because early big moves have significant design and cost implications,” says Kelly. “There are multiple ways to get to net-zero in design and construction. Together, our shared goal is to create a compelling and efficient model that exemplifies SEF’s core mission and principles.”
Re:Vision was founded in 2002 as a green architecture firm dedicated to sustainability and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
Conceptual designs of the SEF project will be unveiled at EnergyPath 2015, held at the University of Scranton in July.
Photo courtesy of the CDC.
It’s official. Ebola has scared the hell out of everyone. With Friday’s news story of a doctor in New York City being diagnosed and today’s “testing” of a 5-year-old boy for Ebola as well in the Big Apple, hysteria is sure to hit new heights.
However, as public relations professionals, our job is to offer wise council in times of crisis. We must anticipate how this latest news impacts our partners and determine how best to help them inform and better educate their audiences. A myriad of businesses can find themselves in the center of a media storm as Friday’s NYC media coverage demonstrated.
So the best advice for businesses is to start with facts.
For those businesses being asked about Ebola risks and protocols – and the public’s perception of your business’ Ebola risk – there are five steps to take quickly:
A sixth but less urgent step is to revisit your crisis communications plans at the conclusion of this latest pubic health scare to fine tune your policies and procedures so you are better prepared next time. And trust me, there will be a next time.
Some small business owners don’t believe in using experts for social media engagement and content development. They see the practice as novel and unproven – until it isn’t.
Such is the case of The Union Street Guest House in Hudson, N.Y. This picturesque small town inn quickly discovered the demonstrative impact of social media when comments about a fines-for-reviews policy hit the inn’s Facebook page and Yelp, the popular online review site.
According to an ABC News story resulting from the social media dust-up, the inn claims its “policy” was posted to its website as a tongue-in-cheek response to a wedding from years ago and should have been taken down. The policy in essence stated bridal parties would be fined $500, taken from deposit monies, for each negative review the inn might receive connected to a particular wedding or event.
A Google search for the inn’s name brings with it a wealth of negative online content that will impact the business’ bottom line.
Unfortunately, a simple Google search of the inn’s name now produces both a link to the inn’s website, as well as countless social media and news articles referencing this not-so-amusing policy.
The result is a Search Engine Optimization nightmare for the inn coupled with a runaway train of negative comments on its Facebook page (more than 200 at this writing; although it appears the inn may now be deleting posts from its Facebook page).
Since this firestorm hit mainstream media, the inn’s Facebook page has been inundated with negative posts.
The news coverage and social media firestorm – with only a half-hearted response from management that appears to have since been deleted – have created a massive public relations problem to overcome. This isn’t the type of crisis you wait out. And without a strategy for responding to and recovering from this communications nightmare, The Union Street Guest House is likely to see a steep decline in business, assuming it has the wherewithal to survive at all.
Small businesses are successful because they do what they do well. Where they often fail is when they try to do something outside of their expertise.
By consulting with a social media professional or brand content specialist, small businesses can avoid errors – even tongue-in-cheek responses – that might not seem substantial at the time, but with an extra set of trained eyes, can be seen for the potential disasters they are and thus avoided. Alternatively, bringing in the professionals after a crisis has erupted is not optimal, but it can mean the difference between staying in business or going under.
Most freelancers or public relations agencies can find equitable arrangements with small businesses that won’t break the bank, and can avoid or attempt to correct business-ending mistakes.
For a free consultation on how working with a public relations agency can help protect and promote your business, please contact me at rhughes@kimballpr.com.
There is a very simple formula you can use to secure free, national coverage by media outlets throughout the United States.
Few PR professionals are aware of it, but those who use it are wildly successful.
It’s called … seriously? You know there is no silver bullet to successfully enhancing your business’ reputation. It takes hard work, planning and no shortage of skill and dedication.
In any event, everyone at Kimball Communications wishes you a very happy April Fool’s Day.
Image courtesy of quickmemes.com
Many media outlets, like the Chicago Tribune, have covered Groupon’s President’s Day marketing stunt. The question is if this stunt hurts or helps the brand in the long term.
As marketing tools, sometimes stunts work. They get the media’s attention. They take your brand “viral.” They get people talking about you. They create “buzz.”
When activists delivered a 13-foot tall gluten-free cake to Capital Hill in May 2011 to advocate that the Food and Drug Administration enforce gluten-free labeling standards, the stunt worked. There was plenty of media coverage. It supported the mission to which the activists were committed. It alerted consumers to issues surrounding the food they eat.
However, Groupon’s latest stunt – calling Alexander Hamilton “undeniably one of our greatest presidents” to promote a Presidents’ Day special – will not serve the brand well.
Sure, Groupon is quirky. Some might say it’s quirky to the point of being ridiculous. I’ll also grant you the Groupon stunt is getting buzz. There’s plenty of media coverage (heck, it prompted me to write this spiffy blog post).
But this stunt also gives the impression Groupon doesn’t know the facts (e.g., Hamilton was U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, not President). In trying to look too cool for school, Groupon instead comes across as out of touch with details – something that might make consumers wary. Thoughtful consumers might at first be amused. But on reflection, will they trust leaving their credit card information with a company that portrays ignorance as an attribute?
Hamilton’s briefly mistaken moment in U.S. presidential history won’t sink Groupon – assuming people are still using it. In fact, in the short run, it will have everyone talking about Groupon. That is what stunts do; they create buzz.
It’s the long run that is a problem. How does Hamilton fit the brand? More importantly, how does portraying a fundamental misunderstanding of history convince consumers to spend their Hamiltons, and Washingtons and Lincolns with Groupon?
Any good public relations professional will tell you buzz doesn’t always last and stunts like this don’t help the long term reputation of Groupon with consumers.
Mr. Hamilton would not be amused or impressed by Groupon’s stunt. Those using his likeness shouldn’t be either.
PR Matters 